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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 2020)
A6 COMMUNITY Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Hope 4 Paws looking for volunteers By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Rescuing stray or lost dogs and cats, providing spay or neuter assistance and return- ing lost pets to their owners are a few things that Grant County Hope 4 Paws brings to the community. When the group was founded in 2016, they focused on providing these services because there were no shelters, impound facil- ities or government-spon- sored animal control in Grant County, said Scotta Callister, the board chair for Hope 4 Paws. In 2019, Hope 4 Paws spent nearly $14,000 to help people spay and neuter 230 pet cats and dogs as well as 46 foster or adoptive animals and 119 feral cats. A lot of work was done through an ongoing, year-round voucher program and a new series of free spay and neuter clinics available for Grant County pet owners through the John Day River Veterinary Center, Callister said. “In bigger population counties, people take those things for granted in being able to call animal control or going down to the shelter,” Callister said. “That’s one of the reasons that Hope 4 Paws was formed because there was no rescue program, spay or neuter programs, which led to a lot of unplanned and unwanted litters. ... We had to look at the beginning of the problem and address that.” With litters of unwanted pets, people would try to sell them during the spring and summer, but Shawn Dun- can, a director that focuses on dogs, added that this Contributed photo/Scotta Callister Rescue dog Milo, adopted locally, is dressed up to attend a 2019 fundraiser. led to problems with the canine parvovirus spread- ing because people weren’t vaccinating puppies and the virus would spread. “And it used to be the mentality of people to take the dogs or puppies out and shoot them if they didn’t want them,” Duncan said. “So now they have a place to bring them and call for help, but we have to get the word out that you can email or Facebook us for help.” Hope 4 Paws needs more volunteers to help serve on the board or help on vari- ous projects and activities planned for the year, accord- ing to Duncan, Callister and Susan Church, a direc- tor that focuses on cats. The board currently includes Cal- lister, Duncan, Church, vice chair Chris Labhart, treasurer Robin Olterman and secre- tary Lindsay Bullock. Peo- ple can also help by fostering animals. “When we have dogs that come into our system, a surrendered dog or a lost dog, before we can re-adopt them, they have to be held for a certain amount of days and are checked out,” Callis- ter said. “They go to the vet clinic and we pay boarding, but with cats, we have these three houses that are over- whelmed. People can choose to foster a cat, and that would be a really big help.” If fostering is not an option, people can transport animals to a shelter such as Brightside in Redmond. Vol- unteers can walk the dogs when Hope 4 Paws has dogs at the veterinarian. Callis- ter said this allows dogs to socialize and exercise, which would help dogs when peo- ple are looking to adopt them. On June 6 at the Grant County Fairgrounds, there will be a joint event with Silent Wave Horse Rescue, and volunteer help would be appreciated, Callister said. The organization also wants to incorporate signage where cats and dogs are com- monly abandoned and have a microchip and tag clinic to make it easier to find an owner of a lost pet. Finding the owner faster would help minimize the cost of lodging at the clinic, Duncan said. A common misconception people have regarding Hope 4 Paws is that they have a shelter when they don’t, but as the years have gone on, the community developed a better idea of what the orga- nization does, Callister said. Church said another miscon- ception is that the organiza- tion will trap feral cats and take them away. “If there’s a feral col- ony somewhere, we will go — there is a contract they sign that they will continue to feed and receive the ani- mals — so we go out and we trap them and neuter them and spay them, and they have a clipped ear (for identification),” Church said. “Then we release them back to where we trapped them.” For Church, Callister and Duncan, finding for- ever homes for dogs and cats provides the greatest reward. Callister said a major project that cat volunteers did at Riverside Home Park on feral cats in 2018, and certain rescues, have been highlights of their work. “Volunteers, we need help, and we want you to join us,” Callister said. “It is a rewarding experience.” “We want to also thank the community for the sup- port we have gotten,” Church added. When making donations or contacting Hope 4 Paws, Duncan said to make sure the numeral four is used since Hope for Paws is a different organization. People can con- tact the organization through Facebook or by emailing hope4pawsgc@gmail.com. Contributed photo The Cycle Oregon Fund awarded $10,000 to the city of Seneca to support the building of a new two-bay, pull-through fire sta- tion to house two newer engines. The city also received a $3,000 Classic Event Community Support Grant from Cycle Oregon. Cycle Oregon donates $13,000 to Seneca Blue Mountain Eagle Cycle Oregon, a Port- land-based nonprofit dedi- cated to transforming individ- uals and communities through bicycling, has announced its latest round of grant recipi- ents from the Cycle Oregon Fund. Now in its 23rd year, the Cycle Oregon Fund grant program awarded a total of 22 nonprofits with a combined $139,050. The city of Seneca received $10,000 to support the build- ing of a new, two-bay, pull- through fire station to house two newer engines. The city also received a $3,000 com- munity grant. All proceeds from Cycle Oregon’s four signature events — Classic, GRAVEL, Joy- ride and WEEKENDER — go to the Cycle Oregon Fund, which is managed by the Ore- gon Community Foundation. “The Cycle Oregon Fund is one of the tools we have to give back to many of the com- munities who offer outstand- ing hospitality to our staff, volunteers and the thousands of riders who participate in Cycle Oregon events every year,” said Steve Schulz, executive director of Cycle Oregon. “People who partic- ipate in Cycle Oregon fall in love with Oregon’s rural com- munities and love knowing that proceeds from our events support many good causes in those same places they rode through.” Cycle Oregon will accept applications for its next grant cycle from Sept. 28 to Oct. 26. To determine if an orga- nization is eligible to apply and to learn how to apply, visit cycleoregon.com/our-work/ our-impact. The Cycle Oregon Classic, a weeklong road ride through Eastern Oregon, is coming back to Grant County Sept. 12-19. The ride includes stops in the historic “frontier” towns of John Day, Monument, Fos- sil, Mitchell and Dayville. New this year, Classic lets riders customize their experi- ence, offering a wide range of route lengths (with weeklong totals ranging from 272 to 443 miles, and total elevation gain between 15,280 and 35,245 feet), plus 60 miles of optional gravel detours. Registration is now open at cycleoregon.com. John Day Valley Mennonite Church Pastor Keith Meeting every Sunday at Mt. Vernon Grange Hall Sunday School.......................9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship...10:50 a.m. Pastor Leland Smucker Everyone Welcome • 541-932-2861 Historic Remnant Church St. Thomas Episcopal Church Preparing for Jesus to come Morning Prayer........10 am (1 st , 3 rd , 5 th Sundays) Eucharist & Sunday School.............10 am (2 nd & 4 th Sundays) Meets Saturday at Mt. Vernon Grange Sabbath School............................9:30 am Church Services..........................11:00 am 139 S. Washington, Canyon City VICTORY BAPTIST CHURCH KJV Independent Fundamental • Premillennial Terence K. Crabb, Pastor A Bible-believing Church “He that hath the Son hath life ...” I John 5:12 Sunday School 9:45 am • Sunday Preaching 11:00 am Junior Church 11:00 am • Sunday Evenings 3:30 pm Wednesday Bible Study & Master Club 7:00 pm Saturday Men’ s Prayer Meeting 7:00 pm 108 S. Washington Street, Canyon City 541-575-2688 or 541-575-0844 St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church Corner of S Canyon Blvd and SW 2 nd Mon. - Fri. Mass - 12:05 pm Saturday Mass - 5:00 pm Sunday Mass - 9:00 am Holy Days Mass: Noon & 6 pm TV & Radio Networks Tune into KSPL 98.1 FM Valley View Broadcasting PO Box 151, Mt Vernon, Or 97865 Antenna: Digital Channel 15 Blue Mountain Cable Channel 2 Redeemer Lutheran Church Come Worship with us at 627 SE Hillcrest, John Day 1 st Sunday Worship/Communion.......10am 3 rd Sunday Worship/Communion/Potluck...4:30pm 2 nd , 4 th & 5 th Sunday Worship ..........10 am Wednesday Evening Bible Study.......6 pm For information: 541-575-2348 MT. VERNON PRESBYTERIAN Community Church SUNDAY SERVICE..............9 am SUNDAY SCHOOL...............9 am 541-932-4800 EVERYONE WELCOME CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE Sunday School..............................9:30 am Sunday Worship Service..............10:45 am Sunday Evening Service................6:00 pm Children & Teen Activities SMALL GROUPS CALL FOR MORE INFO Weekdays: Sonshine Christian School Pastor Randy Johnson 521 E. Main • John Day • 541-575-1895 wwww.johndaynazarene.com FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH Sunday School.......................9:45 am Sunday Worship.......................11 am Fox Community Church..............3 pm Sunday Evening Bible talk..........6 pm Saturday Men’s Study................6 pm Full Gospel- Come Grow With Us 541-575-1202 Church 311 NE Dayton St, John Day Pastor Al Altnow Confession: Saturday 4:00-4:45 pm Anytime by appointment 541-974-8638 JOHN DAY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Sunday Worship • 9AM St. Anne Monument - 2nd and 4th Sundays at 12:30 pm 2 Every Sunday in the L.C. Community Center (Corner of Second & Allen) Contact Pastor Ed Studtmann at 541-421-3888 • Begins at 4:00pm FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Sunday School....................... 10 am Church....................................11 am Afternoon Service.................... 2 pm No Mid-week Services Pastor Jesse Gosnell 300 W. Main, John Day 541-575-1355 Office Hours Monday - Friday 9 am - 12 Noon (541) 575-1326 johndayUMC@gmail.com 126 NW Canton, John Day Food Pantry Friday 3-4p.m. Like us on Facebook! Cornerstone Christian Fellowship 139 N.E. D AYTON S TREET , J OHN D AY 541-575-2180 Sunday Worship Service 10 am Sunday Youth Group 3 pm Thursday Celebrate Recovery 6 pm Pastor Levi Manitsas cornerstonejohnday@gmail.com ccfjd.org Seventh-Day Adventist Church SATURDAY SERVICES JOHN DAY 110 Valley View Dr. 541-575-1216 Head Elder......................541-575-2914 Bible Classes (all ages)............9:30 am Worship.......................................11 am LONG CREEK E. Main Street 541-421-3033 Head Elder............................421-3468 Bible Classes (all ages)...............2 pm Worship........................................3 pm S169262-1